The Waif

The Waif is a random encounter in Tales from the Tiers.

Transcript
Even in the midst of the war between the Archons, travel along the long-conquered roads of the Bastard Tier tends to be relatively safe and uneventful. A river meanders slowly aside the road, and the plains sweep openly before you towards distant towering mountains and the hazy gray line of the Oldwalls on the horizon. From your vantage atop a rise you can make out far flung settlements and small stands of trees. On a log off the road ahead, you make out a young Tiersman, not quite a woman grown, working at an object in her lap. When she spies you, she leaps to her feet, waving to capture your attention. Speak with her. Pass her by. [10 rings] Purchase the sword. Examine the sword. The girl smiles warmly at your approach, though the expression falters slightly when she sees your heraldry. Tall and a tad lanky, the waif boasts an unkempt mop of brown hair and large eyes the color of unpolished peridot. She asks if you are interested in a trade: an item she scavenged for the handful of rings she needs to purchase some chickens. She presents the object proudly, wrapped in a long sheet of clean cloth, and to your surprise it's a well-kept blade of expertly-worked iron. You ignore the girl, passing her without so much as a glance. Behind you she sits again on her log and resumes tinkering whatever small piece of refuse she'd collected. Deciding the distraction of the girl and her find do not deserve your time, you continue along the road, leaving her to ply her well-worn ware on some other traveler. It's a long, well-forged blade with a sharp shift in its length about halfway up the blade. The design is clearly that used by the Disfavored, and a stamp near the hilt confirms that it was crafted by the Forge-Bound. Threaten the waif. Leave. Keep the sword. Pointing to the maker's mark, you tell the girl that the weapon is the rightful property of the Disfavored and, more specifically, of the Overlord who commands their loyalty. The waif scowls, but she says nothing, lips clamped so tightly together that the color drains from them. You give the girl a thin leather cord heavy with rings in exchange for the weapon. She thanks you profusely, tying the cord about her neck and tucking the rings beneath the neckline of her tunic. You glare at the girl, then slowly ask her if she really wants to be delaying the work of a Fatebinder of Tunon in order to sell a piece of scrap. She stammers out an apology, tucks the object under her arm, and takes off into the field at a full run. You blink as she goes, then turn and continue on your way. Barik steps forward the moment you begin to unwrap it. "By the Great General!" he exclaims. "This is a Disfavored blade. And here!" He gestures at a symbol stamped near the sword's hilt. "This is the mark of the Forge-Bound who made it!" He turns his attention on the girl. "Where did you find this?" he asks, striding towards her as she shrinks from him. You glare at the girl, then slowly ask her if she really wants to be delaying the work of a Fatebinder of Tunon in order to sell a piece of scrap. She stammers out an apology and, with only a brief glance at the blade still in your hands, takes off into the field at a full run. You blink as she goes, then turn and continue on your way. She glares at you, cheeks reddening, then tells you that she found the weapon in the forest an hour's hike from the road. She says she can't be more specific than that. The polished iron blade in your possession, you continue your journey through the Tiers. Ask where she got the blade. Leave her. She explains that she found the sword in a stand of trees among the fields an hour or so south of the road. You know that it's an area you likely would never have visited otherwise. You offer the girl a few rings if she'll lead you to the place where she found the blade. Her eyes widen at the copper, and she accepts with an enthusiastic nod. [10 rings| Bribe her. Threaten her. Leave. You offer her a small string of copper rings, and her eyes widen slightly at it before narrowing at you and the wealth obvious in your gear. She presses you for double, noting the danger of travel and the time it will take to lead you there and back. Her eyes widen as you enumerate the punishments for hindering a legal investigation and hoarding stolen military assets of the Overlord. She stammers a promise to guide you to where she found the sword. Deciding you have little time to comb every stretch of woods south of here for the promise of a little more iron, you take the sword and continue on, putting the waif behind you. [20 rings| Pay double. Threaten her. Take back your rings and scare her away. Tiring of the waif's insubordination, you pull back your arm, readying a backhanded strike. The waif covers her head with her hands in anticipation of a slap that doesn't arrive, dropping your rings in the process. The waif scampers away in fear and her scrawny form soon disappears into the tree line. You reclaim your rings and continue your journey. Search the scene. Examine the bodies. Question the girl. Leave the scene. She leads you south across the fields over gently rolling hills sparsely cultivated with grains and vegetables. You eventually come to a lonely copse of trees, jutting from the wind-combed grass like a stone from the sea. Within the shade of the oaks you find a small squad of corpses, bloated and reeking, stripped to their smallclothes. Follow her. While you locate a few scraps of broken iron and shredded leather and find more than a little dry blood, it seems these bodies were thoroughly looted. It's surprising that the girl found even this blade left. When you ask her about it, she says she happened to find it pressed into the mud under one of the bodies. Barik falls to his knees at the sight of the slain. "Brothers Marutius and Caelus, Sister Julia - members of the mighty seventh cohort, slain here and left with less dignity than that afforded a butchered pig." His head turns slowly towards you. "If these lands know no civility, is it not our duty to introduce it?" You look the bodies over carefully. There are two men and a woman, each slain by violent trauma, but with heavily scarred bodies that indicate they've all been wounded numerous times prior. The evidence strongly suggests these were members of Ashe's Disfavored legion that finally suffered wounds against which Ashe's Aegis could not protect. You turn on the girl, demanding she tell you what she knows of what happened here. She takes a step back, surprised by the scrutiny, and protests that everything here is as she found it, albeit a few days older. She doesn't know with certainty what occurred, though she mentions Scarlet Chorus raiders are a common sight in these parts. Bury the bodies. Leave and report your findings. You and Barik set to digging graves for the departed. The sun hangs blood red just above the horizon before the work is done; soaked in sweat, you look down on three nigh-identical mounds with stones as markers. "I regret more of the legion is not here to commemorate this moment, but at least my brothers and sisters can have some dignity." Barik sighs sadly. He looks to you. "Thank you, Fatebinder. My fellows may be far from home, but they would have appreciated the honor you've shown them." You set to digging graves for the departed. The sun hangs blood red just above the horizon before the work is done; soaked in sweat, you look down on three nigh-identical mounds with stones as markers. Turning your back on the grisly scene, you make your way back to the road, say your farewell to the waif, and continue on your journey. You take up parchment and quill and decide who to inform about what you found here... Graven Ashe The Voices of Nerat Tunon No one You draft a straightforward report of the slayings and send it to the Archon of War before continuing on your journey. You receive a missive in response thanking you for your continued friendship to the legion. You draft a straightforward report of the slayings and send it to the Archon of War before continuing on your journey. The missive you receive in response includes only curt gratitude, though Ashe does note that he will commend your courtesy to the Archon of Justice. You draft a coded missive for the Archon of Secrets and dispatch it to Cacophony before continuing on your journey. You never receive a response, but you get the impression from the Voices of Nerat when you next see him that he was amused by your findings. You draft a straightforward report of the slayings and dispatch it to the Archon of Secrets before continuing on your journey. The bird that returns to you is spattered with blood, the missive scrawled in a wild hand. It asks if you have an accusation to make, or whether you merely enjoy wasting the time of your betters. The note ends in a ridiculously long list of tortures he'd have put the Disfavored soldiers through had he actually had the opportunity. The last line suggests he'll have to find someone else, perhaps a Fatebinder, to subject to such. Before continuing your journey, you draft a brief report of your findings to the Court. A few days later you receive a formal missive of appreciation from the Archon of Justice. This is further evidence, he purports, of the chaos gripping the Tiers. Remain vigilant, he warns, and continue forward with unclouded eyes. With the bodies buried, you make your way back to the road, say your farewell to the waif, and continue on your journey. You agree and hand over the copper. The girl accepts with an enthusiastic nod and offers to show the way. Before continuing your journey, you draft a brief report of your findings to the Court. A few days later you receive a formal missive of appreciation from the Archon of Justice. This is further evidence, he purports, of the chaos gripping the Tiers. Remain vigilant, he warns, and continue forward with unclouded eyes. You draft a coded missive for the Archon of Secrets and dispatch it to Cacophony before continuing on your journey. You never receive a response, but you get the impression from the Voices of Nerat when you next see him that he was amused by your findings. You draft a straightforward report of the slayings and dispatch it to the Archon of Secrets before continuing on your journey. The bird that returns to you is spattered with blood, the missive scrawled in a wild hand. It asks if you have an accusation to make, or whether you merely enjoy wasting the time of your betters. The note ends in a ridiculously long list of tortures he'd have put the Disfavored soldiers through had he actually had the opportunity. The last line suggests he'll have to find someone else, perhaps a Fatebinder, to subject to such. You draft a straightforward report of the slayings and send it to the Archon of War before continuing on your journey. You receive a missive in response thanking you for your continued friendship to the legion. You draft a straightforward report of the slayings and send it to the Archon of War before continuing on your journey. The missive you receive in response includes only curt gratitude, though Ashe does note that he will commend your courtesy to the Archon of Justice. You ask the young woman to see the blade more closely, and, after eying you suspiciously for a moment, she passes you the weapon. Continue...